March 18, 2008

Final Stats

Loudonville, N.Y. - Sophomore attack Ryan Duggan netted a hat trick and sophomore goalie Brent Herbst tallied 16 saves as the Siena men's lacrosse team upset #17 Loyola 5-4 this afternoon at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field in Baltimore, Md. Duggan added an assist for a game-high four point performance as the Green and Gold recorded its first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

In a hard fought defensive struggle throughout, it was Duggan who kick started Siena's (4-2) offense early on as he found the back of the net with the opening goal of the game just under three minutes in. Loyola's (3-3) Paul Richards answered back moments later before Duggan put the Green and Gold back on top with his second goal of the first period with 30 seconds remaining.

The Greyhounds scored a pair of goals in the second to claim their first and only lead of the game before Matt Girsh responded with the equalizer to tie the game at 3-3 entering intermission.

At the 12:37 mark early in the third, Duggan completed his hat trick while also tallying what turned out to be the game-winning goal as the Saints climbed back on top 4-3. Siena added a man-up insurance goal later in the period by Brendan Murphy to take a 5-3 lead and ultimately fended off a late Loyola rally attempt in the fourth to pull out the victory.

Herbst made three huge saves in the fourth to seal the win and in all stopped an amazing 16 of the 20 shots on goal he faced during the game, while Duggan led the offensive attack with a season-high four points.

Loyola controlled most of the statistical categories, out-shooting the Saints 31-21 while holding a 43-29 edge in groundballs and harbored a 10-3 advantage in face-offs.

Siena returns home after this three game road trip for a non-conference battle against Hartford on Saturday afternoon at Siena Turf Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.